Soulmates
by Anonymous181
Summary: Ray has developed feelings for Emma.. since a long time. But will he ever manage to break it to her? And if he finally does, will she return them? What will it lead to? A sweet RayEmma fanfic from one huge Ray x Emma shipper!
1. I want to tell you something....

The Promised Neverlands

Ray x Emma

The Gracefield House kids were sitting around on the couch, chatting. 8 years after having obtained their freedom from the horrors of the orphanage and the wilderness and reaching the human world safely, the big family had settled down together happily in an adequately sized house and now, the eldest of them all, Ray, Emma and Norman (yes, Norman was also reunited his friends again at one point during their journey and words simply could not express the joy of his other siblings and ESPECIALLY his 2 best friends when they found out that he was alive and well after all) were in their early 20's and the second eldest, Don, Gilda and Anna were just exiting their teens (18-19). The remaining younger ones were now either 13-14 (those who were above 5 when they escaped) or 8-9 (for those who were younger than 5 and brought in later). The chatting that was going on was at 11 in the night and involved only the eldest and second eldest members of the family who had finished their responsibility of putting the younger ones to bed for the night already. This was their own private, free time when they all could get together and talk about things without the younger ones listening (sometimes :P). Mostly, they caught up on each others day. It was a family tradition. During the day, some of them had taken on different kinds of jobs to bring in income. Norman had studied medicine and worked as a doctor in a small clinic while Emma was a teacher at school. Others had alternate days like Don and Gilda who worked as a waiter and waitress at the same restaurant on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ray and Anna were the only ones who had not taken up work.. yet. Today, Emma was telling everyone something interesting that happened at her school and they all were listening to her. Everyone except for Ray, who got lost in his own thoughts at some point and only snapped out of it when everyone started laughing. After the laughing ceased, Emma continued with her story and this time, Ray was listening as well. Only that somehow while listening, he found his gaze fixed on Emma.. again. And the rest of her words got drowned out by his thoughts. '_God, she's so beautiful.. She's like a princess..' _Ray thought, looking at her tall, slender figure and long, orange waist length hair. _'I don't think I've ever seen such an attractive pair of eyes in my life before'_ he thought to himself after turning his attention to her sparkling, light green eyes with long curling eyelashes. '_How and why is she so perfect?? I feel l can keep looking at her like this forever. No, rather I want to keep looking at her like this forever. This is the same Emma who was with me since so many years ago in the orphanage, the escape and then the entire journey too, right? Where was I then and how did I not notice all this about her before? Now my eyes want to take in every little detail of her. Something is definitely wrong with me. Wait wait wait! Stop staring at her like this Ray you idiot, you are going to freak her out!' _And with these thoughts, Ray forced himself to snap out of his trance and thankfully, neither Emma herself nor anyone else was looking at him.. yet. They all were still too busy talking to each other. He gave a small sigh of relief _'Whew, she's got a hypnotic pull.. like a magnet'. _He put his head down in order to avoid getting into the same situation again. It was much too risky looking at her. These days it seemed that every single time he was even around her, his eyes always ended up getting drawn to her, both aimlessly and helplessly and then the entire cycle repeated itself. It was more like she and not Ray himself was their controller. '_Why am I even looking at her that way now when I never did before? I_ _don't know what is wrong with me.. I'm a little scared'_ But Ray was wrong in assuming that no one was looking at him. From the far away corner, Norman had witnessed everything secretly and now he smiled to himself. He knew exactly what was going through Ray's mind. After so many years of being together, he could read him like an open book. _'It's all happening because you're falling for her, Ray. No, rather, because you have already fallen for her. And yet, you did not seem like the kind of person who would really fall for anyone. But our Emma is someone who can make even the seemingly impossible, possible. And she proved that once again._ Norman felt that he needed a little guidance and decided to talk to him in private about the matter soon. '_For the first time, Ray's actually looking so unsure and scared of himself. I don't think I've ever seen him look like that before. Don't worry brother, I'm here for you. We'll solve this together, _he said, reassuring him in his thoughts. At the same time, Gilda noticed him. "Ray, you are very quiet today. Are you feeling alright? We barely even knew you were here with us this whole time." Upon hearing his name, Ray lifted his head up abruptly. "Huh? Oh yeaa that.. I'm just feeling a little tired. I think that I'll go up to my room and rest now. Excuse me." he said and got up to leave, purposefully avoiding Emma's concerned gaze. It really hurt. And Ray was quite sure that it had hurt the girl herself quite as much too and he apologized to her in his thoughts._ 'I'm really truly sorry for avoiding you like this Emma, I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I could and would never hurt you on purpose, just please, please, PLEASE understand.. there is some kind of issue that I'm having right now due to which I was compelled to behave in this way. I promise myself that I'll never, ever do it again'. _After Ray had left, there was silence for a while. "I think that he wasn't really comfortable sitting among us here." Don speculated. "We are really actually the ones who drag him here to spend some time with us everyday so I think we should just give him a break now. He's grown up physically but he's still an introvert at heart after all." The others all thought about it for some time and then agreed with him. All except for Norman, who knew better. "I'm going to go and try to talk to him." he said to the others. "Yes, that's a good idea Norman. You two are close right? So I'm sure he will be willing to talk things out with you." Anna said. All this time, Emma was the only one who had remained oddly silent. Why had Ray ignored her so coldly like that? It really wasn't like him to do such a thing. Norman sensed her confusion and distress. "Emma don't worry, I'll talk to him. I'm sure he has a valid reason for behaving as he did. Until then, everyone, just try to avoid approaching him on my request. It's for the best." Norman was in fact, deciding to seize his chance to talk to Ray after he had gone upstairs to his room a while ago but decided to give him some space. He honestly did look as if he could do with a good night's rest. _'I'll talk to him tomorrow evening after I return from work', _he thought to himself.

Meanwhile Ray was sitting upstairs in his room, trying to sort his thoughts and feelings out. He was so tired that he did not even have the energy to reach his bed and so he simply flopped down onto the floor, his head leaned back against his rooms wall. One of his hands was covering his face in exasperation. Maybe taking the first step would help. So he cleared his head and started thinking coolly and logically as he had always done. Or at least, attempted to. First of all, he tried to figure out since when did he start having these feelings towards Emma the first time and he was a little surprised to come to the conclusion that it was actually since a couple of months back. 6 or 7 months precisely. The second conclusion that he came to was that they were building up in intensity slowly over time. Maybe that is why he did not really notice or pay attention to them when they occurred back then. He dismissed them as simply a crush/temporary infatuation. But they refused to fade. Instead, they kept raging on and now, in the past 3 to 4 months, they had reached their peak. They were so strong that his eyes got drawn to her automatically whenever she was around. They were so strong that he wanted to pounce on her and hold her tightly in his arms, never letting go. They were so strong that if it was for her, it did not matter what lengths he would have to go to. Ray placed a hand on his chest. And what was this fuzzy, warm feeling that arose in here whenever he thought of her? It was nothing like he had ever felt before, nothing like he had ever read in any book. And this conclusion of Ray's led him to the result that these feelings that he had been experiencing all along were not just simply temporary as he had thought. They were very real and genuine and no matter what other way he attempted to look at it from, they always led him back to the same assumption: He was starting to think of Emma as more than a sibling. There was no other answer and no denying it. But Ray did deny it. '_No no no no no, it's not even possible. I can't be harboring feelings for Emma! Dammit why did have to be EMMA?! It could have been Gilda or Anna or.. anyone but her!'_ Ray stubbornly refused to believe this truth. Not because he resented falling in love or anything, but rather because he was really ashamed of himself for bringing Emma into something like this. For so many years that they had been together, Ray had always thought of and treated Emma as his sister. He had loved her as a brother and was always looking out for her and had her back every step of the way. He was always ready to listen to her and help her out in anything. And it was still the same. Except that now, things like hugging were getting involved as well. Not to say that they weren't before. They both had even held hands so many times in their childhood but it was always as friends and family. It did not involve any staring or fuzzy feelings which it was now. Which also, according to Ray, wasn't exactly appropriate OR decent, after having considered Emma as family. He groaned loudly. Things were going from bad to worse.

The next day, Ray came down to join the rest of the family for breakfast as usual. Phil saw him first. "Good morning Ray!" "Yo, good morning Phil!" "Hey Ray, how are you feeling now?" "I'm much better, thanks for asking Gilda." Ray said, smiling slightly. "That's great Ray, but it really wouldn't hurt you to give us all a full, beaming smile for once!" Gilda said, teasing him. Ray looked around the table for Emma and Norman. Norman was already there, but at the second table and Emma was nowhere to be seen yet. "She's in the kitchen, helping Anna with serving breakfast. She'll be here in a few minutes, so take a seat." said Don, accurately guessing what was he looking around for. "Oh wait, I forgot my coat upstairs. I'm coming in a minute." he said, then dashed off to get it. When he came back, everyone was already seated around the table, including Emma and Ray too settled down into the only remaining seat ... which was right next to Emma herself and Ray had absolutely no idea whether that was supposed to be fortunate or unfortunate for him. Regardless, he continued keeping his gaze averted from her. Emma, for her part, did notice him next to her. After all, he was her best friend and if Emma was being completely truthful, secretly her boyfriend too.. but if she was awfully sad and concerned after seeing that he was still really quiet and avoiding her, she did not let it show at all. Instead, she continued to talk with Gilda, who was to her right. The truth was, Emma badly wanted to talk to Ray. She couldn't bear seeing him like that at all. It hurt her heart terribly and she really wanted to hold and comfort him from any issues that he might be having but she was strictly following Norman's orders, just like the others. She did keep stealing small sideways glances at him occasionally though, even while she was talking to Gilda. Ray on the other hand, was lucky that the left side of his face was covered completely by his fringe. Because he was blushing beetroot red underneath and his heart was pounding so hard against his chest that he was half afraid that Emma beside him would hear it. Definitely a result of being so close to her in her presence, he realized. Come to think of it now, he hadn't even been around her much ever since he started having feelings for her. The sound of her gentle voice and tinkling laugh was just adding fuel to the fire and finally, he couldn't resist the temptation anymore and stole a small peek at her from a partition in his hair.. then immediately regretted it because he started choking on a piece of bread that he had just swallowed. '_She's so radiant…And her smile.. Goddammit, it's the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen in this world!' _Ray started coughing violently as a consequence of the brief choking that had just taken place with him and personally, he was thankful for the distraction this time around because he realized that he had been staring at Emma.. again. She immediately turned her attention to him.. okay not only her, but the entire dining room turned it's gaze on him now and a hushed silence ensued. Although he had already seen this coming, he wasn't prepared mentally for it and he was feeling like wanting to crawl under the table and hide. _'Please stop, I swear this is so awkward. Why am I always the only one who ends up in these kinds of situations anyways??' _Emma scrambled to get him a glass of water. "Ray, are you alright?? What happened??" Ray lifted up one of his hands as a signal. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just choked a bit on a piece of bread. Thanks, Emma." However, soon everyone forgot about that incident and went about their daily lives as usual. In the evening, when Norman returned home from work, they all gathered around again for their free time. Except that Gilda and Don got up to leave after some time, so that left only Anna, Ray, Norman and Emma. "Where are you two going?" asked Emma. "Oh, just outside for a walk. It's such a pleasant weather, we thought that maybe taking a round around the area would be a little refreshing." Don replied. "Oh alright. Enjoy yourselves!". So Don and Gilda left, hand in hand. This was a secret that the older kids of Gracefield House shared among themselves. They were all in 3 pairs.. as couples. Norman was with Anna, Don with Gilda and lastly the new couple: Ray with Emma. Norman's gaze landed on Ray, who was looking a little sad as he saw the two of them leaving and on Emma, who was indirectly looking at Ray himself. He decided that this was the perfect chance to talk to him. "Ray, can I have a word with you alone for sometime?" "Oh.. of course. Let's go to my room, if that's fine with you." "Yes, it's completely fine." So they both left Anna and Emma alone to talk and headed upstairs. When they were finally in his room, Norman started. "Ray, is everything alright with you? You have seemed a little down lately." "Down?" "Yes, I mean that you are really quiet and lost somewhere these days.. at least much more than usual. Do you have something on your mind?" "Well.. not really" Ray said, rubbing the nape of his neck. "It's just that I'm reading a really interesting book these days so my mind is always on that." _Wait, this is Norman. Why am I lying to him about it?? _Ray thought to himself. "A book huh? You sure?" Norman said, playfully teasing him. "Yes, quite sure." _I just won't give it up, will I?_ "I see, I see. So, what does that book have that is so interesting? May I know as well, please?" to which Ray got tongue-tied. _Dammit, he caught me completely off guard! _He looked back at Norman, who had a smug expression on his face. "Hey, stop it!" Ray said, shoving him playfully. "Alright, alright you win. You got me fair and square, okay brother?" "Yes. I did win. I always get what I want. So now tell me.. what is the matter honestly?" Ray got tongue-tied again, so Norman decided to help him out a little bit. "Is it something about Emma?" "N- NOOO.. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?!" Ray replied, completely flustered, but his bright red face gave everything away and Norman started laughing. "Hey, what's so funny?!" Ray asked him, still really flustered and a bit shocked that Norman had managed to figure it out so quickly. After they both calmed down, he explained everything to him. "Ray, you are turning crimson to the tips of your ears. Literally." he said, trying to stifle his laughter again. "What other proof do I need? And all jokes aside, why are you even bothering to lie to me in the first place? You do know that we are brothers, so first of all, you don't really need to hide anything from me. Secondly, also because I am your brother, I can read you like an open book, Ray. I know what is going on in your mind simply by looking at your facial expressions. And I'm really positive that you know this already too. So in the end, no matter how hard of an effort you make to hide any facts from me, all of your efforts will always be futile. It's better to simply give it up. Besides, I've been observing you these past few days. That is how I knew that you had something on your mind in the first place. I've noticed the way you stare at her and the worry and confusion you have on your face when you are around her, both yesterday and today. And the way you were gazing sadly at Don and Gilda when they left together today.. that alone gives away a lot of information, to be completely honest with you. And I'll let you in on a little secret. I know exactly what you are going through right now, because I went through the same thing with Anna." "Wait.. so you and Anna are…" Norman nodded and gently smiled at him. Yep, me and Anna are together." "Wow.. that's actually great. Tell you what, one of the main reasons that I was afraid of admitting that I have fallen in love with Emma was because I knew that you liked her.. you told me so when we were kids, Norman. So I.. I didn't want to hurt you, of course.. and also because she was always like a sister to me. You can't have any romantic feelings for your own sibling, right? That's really inappropriate." "Haha true that, but we are not really siblings by blood if you think about it, Ray. We are siblings by heart. So it's actually completely okay if the feelings you have for her is more than just as siblings. It's not considered "wrong" in any way. And.. I was very young when I said that. It was so many years ago. I definitely enjoyed playing with her as a child but it was nothing more than that, really. She was just my best friend back then as she is now. So in short.. she's all yours. Go for her, Ray. Before it's too late." he said, clapping him on his shoulder. "And trust me, you won't find any other girl like her in the entire world, ever." "Yes, that's true, our Emma is special in her own way." Ray agreed. "Thanks for all of your help, Norman." "Anytime, Ray. That's what brothers are for, right?" "Yes, definitely." Ray said, smiling a big smile. "Oh and Ray?" "Yes, Norman?" "Come clean to her. Admit everything about your feelings for her with complete honesty and right to her face. Sit her down with you sometime when she is free in private and discuss everything with her. It's important to do and she will definitely appreciate it alot. And who knows, maybe she will even reciprocate them?" he said, winking at him. "Ahhaha, yes, that is an amazing possibility to consider." "Hmmm, and considering Emma's nature, it is actually more than likely a possibility. Plus, she's actually really close to you already.. so you are a super lucky guy, Ray. Also, I would further advise you to make the confession as soon as possible. Because the more you bottle up your emotions inside, the more troublesome it's going to get. And sooner or later, everyone has a breaking point. Regarding Emma herself, trust me, she's already having quite a hard time these days as well. She's been really upset and worried because she has got no apparent explanations or a reason for your behavior." "Yes, I did realize that much on my own. Thanks once again, Norman." "Good luck, Ray!" Talking with Norman had put Ray's mind and heart at great ease and he now knew exactly what was going on and what he had to do next. But what Norman hadn't told Ray was that he knew for a fact that Emma was going to reciprocate Ray's feelings. Just as Norman had been observing Ray, he had been observing Emma too. But he had decided to keep it as a pleasant surprise for his best friend and now he chuckled to himself at imagining first the amount of shock and then the happiness that would be on his face when he found out. _'He really deserves it after all he has been through' he thought to himself._

Ray was sitting in the library, deciding his next course of action. Uptil now, sorting out his feelings had not been that big of a problem and it was mostly thanks to Norman. The confession was what was going to be the real challenge. And that is why he was rehearsing what was he going to say to her to himself over and over again and correcting any errors. "What am I even going to say to her? Wait, how about something like this: "Umm Emma? I want to tell you something. I like you. Very much. No, infact, I love you. Do you love me too? Yes, that sounds good. No, darn it, it sounds so lame and stupid! But what else should I even say? And more importantly, how do I even say it? I don't want to turn her away or offend her feelings or anything. I guess I'll just say that I want to tell her something and then…." Ray was cut off by the library door opening. And who was it at the door, but Emma herself. "Ray, can I talk to you about something?" Externally, Ray completely froze on the spot. Internally, he was screaming at himself for doing so. _'Shit, do something you idiot?!' _So in a split second that he had before the door opened completely, Ray grabbed a book that was the closest to him, threw it open and buried his face completely in it, all in an attempt to give off the idea that he was very absorbed in reading. But behind the book, he was badly trembling and his face was turning redder than a tomato. _Dammit, why did it have it to be HER again?! The more I'm trying to avoid her, the more I'm running into only her these days!! Gimme a break… pleasee…_ "Ray… is everything alright with you?" Emma asked him after noticing his shaking. "Yes I - I'm fine. Thanks for asking." he said to her, a little too abruptly and in a flat tone. He was so flustered that he couldn't even answer her properly. _What is wrong with me?? Why am I being so rude to her? _Even without looking at her directly, Ray could tell from the silence that followed that she was hurt. He took a deep breath and then, after a moment, replied to her more calmly. "I'm fine Emma. Really. What makes you think that I'm not?" Emma started walking directly towards him. _Uh-oh, I think that she is going to start a face-to-face conversation with me. What do I do now?? Is this the best time to tell her everything?? _She took a chair and sat down right beside him. "Because you have been behaving very strangely these past few days, Ray. For instance, by deliberately trying to avoid me.. and hiding your face in a book at the moment, while I'm trying to talk to you directly." _Ugh,she noticed!_ "Well? Have you got any explanation for that now?" Suddenly, all the stress of the feelings that he had bottled up inside himself since so long became too much for him to bear any longer now and he broke down into sobs. At that moment, Norman's words echoed in his mind. _'The longer you bottle up your emotions inside, the more troublesome it's going to get. And sooner or later, everyone has a breaking point'. _Emma noticed his shaking shoulders. "Ray? Are you… crying?" She removed the book from his face and at the same time, Ray decided that he had had enough. So he took a leap of faith and put his arms around Emma's neck. He buried his face in her shoulder, still sobbing. She rubbed his back gently "Shhh, it's okay Ray. It's okay. I'm here now, so let's talk about what's bothering you-" but Ray cut her off midway. "Nothing's bothering me Emma. I swear nothing is. It's just that-that.. I'm in.. I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, EMMA!!!" Emma gasped slightly, and Ray heard it. But he kept rambling on and on, trying to provide her an explanation before she rejected him. "I'm sorry I know you are shocked and I knew you would not like it but I - I'm so sorry, dammit I already said that! I wanted to tell you all this, I wanted to tell you everything earlier but somehow I just couldn't find the courage within myself to. I knew that you wouldn't like it, but I couldn't help it nor keep it to myself any longer, so please before you reject me completely.. please.. forgive me.. I never meant to do anything of the sort to you…". Ray was out of both breath and words now, so hence it was Emma's turn to speak. "Ray… It's okay, really. But you shouldn't have bottled up your feelings inside.. because.. because.. I'm in love with you too!" Wait, I'm dreaming.. She didn't just say that.. right? "What.." "Yes, I mean it. I am in love with you too.. and actually.. it's been going on since a long time.. I wasn't brave enough to tell you either.. but oh, I was so worried about you when I saw that you were so quiet and sad like that! You have no idea how much it hurts my heart when I see you in any kind of pain, Ray.." After all this conversation, Ray was finally at peace within his soul again. He hugged Emma tightly with a smile.. a beaming smile.. on his face now and Emma hugged him back as tightly. "I love you so much, pumpkin. And tell you what, there is actually a lot more that I want to tell you as well.. but let's do that tonight. We will take a walk in the park and I'll explain everything to you. Would you like to?" "Of course! I'd be anywhere with you." So that night when they all had gathered around for their talk, Ray and Emma politely excused themselves and went outside. There, in the garden, under a tree they both sat, with Emma in Ray's arms and her head leaned backwards on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, both affectionately and to keep her warm, for the winter nights were cold. "The weather is much colder tonight than yesterday, don't you think?" "Hmmm, you are right. It is a bit more chilly." "And the stars.. so beautiful.." After a moment's silence, Ray started. "Umm, Emma? Actually, I didn't tell you this, but I had been having feelings towards you since a long time too. And as for the avoiding you.. it was just because everytime I looked at you, I felt like I was going to go mad.. like I was suddenly going to start hugging you or even kissing you.. a few times. And I was so scared of that happening, so that is why I decided that the best way to avoid it was by not making eye contact with you. You are so beautiful that I just couldn't help myself pumpkin. But I'm so so sorry that I hurt you. I never ever meant to, really." he said, while gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's okay, Ray. I completely understand. So let's stay together for the rest of our lives now, okay?" "Is that a proposal?" Ray said, teasing her. Emma immediately realized this and puffed out her cheeks at him in playful annoyance like she always did, turned slightly pink, then finally said "Well.. in a kind of way.. yes." "Then I accept it." he said, bumping her slightly with his fist on her head. Meanwhile, the other young adults had all secretly gathered around the window of the house that looked out onto the garden to spy on the new couple. "Well, finally they're together. Took them long enough." said Don. "They're really cute together, don't you think?" said Gilda. "I knew Emma liked Ray since a long time. She told me so. I'm so glad they can finally be together now. They fit perfectly together too." "You are right," said Anna. "Those two are literally polar opposites. That's why they fit perfectly together. They balance each other out and complete each other.. like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle." "So the rule of science that says opposites attract is not only limited to science itself.. it can be applied to relationships too." said Norman, which made all the others crack up. "Look, look, they are coming in! Move away, quickly!" Gilda said, and all the others dispersed in a panic. So when Ray and Emma came in, holding hands, the others were all already sitting back in their seats like before and neither of them was able to figure out the mischievous deed they had collectively done. However, they were sitting in their respective pairs to give them a small hint. "Welcome to the secret couples group!" said Don as they entered, which made them all laugh. All in all, it was a happy night and they all had a great time, even Ray, who laughed till his stomach hurt like the others. That same night, Emma slept with Ray on the sofa. She was flat on his stomach, with Ray's own arms around her. He covered them both with a blanket. "Good night pumpkin. I love you." he said, kissing her on her head. "Mhmm, love.. you.. too." she said sleepily. It was a sweet night for the couple and a sweet sight for the viewer, namely Norman, who had come to check on them both one last time for the night. He smiled to himself when he saw this. _Well done, Ray. You indeed are a very courageous person and I admire and respect you highly for that. I'm really proud of you and I wish you both great joy and genuine happiness in your lives. Stay together.. forever now. Your fates were already intertwined with each other and I can't wait to see what the future brings forth for you both now. Farewell and have sweet dreams._ And after giving them his best wishes and prayers, he left for his own room.

To be continued*


	2. Good News!

The Promised Neverland

Ray x Emma (part 2)

Ray came into their room. "What is it Emma, you told me that you wanted to talk about something?" It had now been 4 years since Ray and Emma had gotten together and 2 years since they had gotten officially married. "Yeah Ray I.." "Ray, Norman's calling for you!" "Oh alright, tell him I'm coming! Thanks Violet! Darn it, he's been calling for me since the past 20 minutes and I always forget that he is waiting. I'd better go quickly now before he blows his top. Sorry Emma. Can we talk later?" "Of course.. no problem." But it turned out that Norman wanted to go outside for an errand with Ray which took a long time. So it was late when he finally returned back home and Emma was already asleep by then. So Ray crawled into bed beside her as well. He stroked her hair gently. "Hey pumpkin. I'm back. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to give you any time today. But I promise that tomorrow definitely.. we will sit and talk together about the matter that you had. And absolutely no one is going to bother us this time. I'll make sure of it." Soon Ray fell asleep as well, with his arms around Emma.

The grandfather clock in the dining room struck 12 and the gong echoed through the entire house. Everything was quiet, so the sound seemed even louder than it actually was. At the same time, Emma woke up, with the feeling of nausea taking over her… again. She rushed to the bathroom just in time and threw up in the sink. This had been happening a lot recently and she was really worried about it. That is why she wanted to talk to Ray about it. She had her own suspicions, but maybe he would be able to provide a better explanation. As if on cue, he came rushing into the bathroom. "Emma, are you alright?" Definitely not he thought, seeing her face over the washing basin. He held all of her hair away from her face in a ponytail and gently rubbed her back. "Ray.." she said, gasping for breath. "There there, it's alright. I'm here. Take your time." After she was done, he helped her back to bed. This vomiting.. It's been happening with her very commonly lately.. Could it possibly be..". "How're you feeling now?" "Much better, really. But Ray.. this is actually what I wanted to talk to you about." "Hmmm, I noticed this, Emma. You have been throwing up many times during the day lately. I want you to answer another question of mine. Is there anything else that you have been feeling? I mean related to your body. Anything different from your normal routine?" "Well… yes, I have been feeling much more tired than normal lately. Some days I just want to stay in bed the whole day. And I've been feeling hungrier than usual too." Just as I thought. "All right. I want you to use this the next time you go to the bathroom. I'll explain how. And then after you do that, come and show it to me." he said, handing her a strip. "A.. dipstick?" "Yes, you guessed correctly. Except that this is a little different type than usual. You will know why when you use it." So Emma did as she was told. "It's.. a positive result." "Means that nausea that I am having.. it really is morning sickness??" "Yes. To tell the truth, I myself was doubtful about considering that line of possibility at first, but this proves it. Because this dipstick that I gave you is a pregnancy dipstick test. And it's positive." "So that means I'm… Oh my God Ray!!" she said, overjoyed and hugging him tightly. Ray suddenly found himself unable to speak, while tears of happiness were spilling down his cheeks. It felt like he was seeing a beautiful dream, it couldn't be true. He hugged Emma back and after a while, when he was able to speak again, said to her. "Congratulations, Emma." "To you too, Ray." And there, at 1 A.M in the morning, sat the happy couple in each other's arms, rejoicing in the new and beautiful feeling of parenthood.

2 months later

"Gilda have you seen Ray around anywhere?" "I think that he went outside somewhere a little while ago. He said that he had some work. Is everything alright?" "Yes, I just couldn't see him anywhere since some time so I thought about inquiring." "And there he comes. I think that you just have to say his name to summon him." Gilda said jokingly. "Oh hey Emma. Yo Gilda." "Where did you go off so suddenly to, Ray? Is everything alright?" "Ah yes, everything is alright. You could say I kind of went for a little.. shopping." "Ooh fancy. I never knew guys went shopping too. And especially CLOTHES shopping." Gilda said, teasing him playfully. Ray looked down at his shopping bag and sure enough, there was a hem of a cloth sticking out of it. "Haha, I guess I'm a different guy." he said, rubbing the nape of his neck. Later on when they were back in their room after dinner, Ray showed Emma what he had brought. "A.. shawl?" He placed it gently around her shoulders and covered her up. "Yes. It's for you. I know that we are all family, but I still.." He started blushing slightly now. "I was feeling a little insecure about everyone looking at you.. so I brought you this shawl to not only keep you warm but also to.. cover up your stomach." "Rayyy" Emma said starting to laugh. The awkward Ray always made her crack up. "It's alright, really. No one looks at me in that way. But I love you so much. I couldn't have asked for a better partner." she said, kissing him on his cheek. "I also love you more than you can even imagine, pumpkin." he replied, cuddling her back affectionately. "Now, I guess it's time for your massage." This was a loving and caring gesture from Ray's side for Emma ever since she told him that the stretch marks on her belly hurt her a bit. He lew her down on the bed and rubbed her belly with some oil for 30 minutes every single night. "It's alright, it's just happening because of the skin in that area stretching excessively. But I'm going to make sure that you don't hurt from now on." he told her that day.

8 months later

Ray and Emma were both lying in bed side by side. Emma was already lying down with her eyes closed while Ray was reading a book when suddenly, Emma jerked violently and hissed. "Ouchh!" Ray nearly jumped out of the bed. "Emma, are you alright?? What's going on??" he said, helping her to sit up. She looked at his pale face and couldn't help but laugh. Each day as the time for her delivery came nearer and nearer, he became more and more jumpy and was extremely alert to all of her movements and sounds. "It's okay, I'm still a couple of days away from that, dummy" she said, both reassuring and teasing him. "It was just a kick. Quite a hard one though. That's why I hissed like that. It's already a football champ I should think." "Oh.. alright". Ray was still looking a little shaken up, so Emma held his face in her hands and stroked his cheek gently. "Ray, relax.. I'll be okay even if it happens. I have everyone around.. you.. Anna.. Gilda.. Norman.. It's all going to be fine I promise. And you are going to be a dad before you even know it." "You are actually right. So let's go to sleep now." he said, wrapping his arms around her. But still, the fear in his heart was far from being quelled.

Finally, 9 months later

Emma had come downstairs to set the breakfast table with Gilda and she protested hotly. "Emma!! You have come to help me right?" "Yes! So let me help you set breakfast now!" "Hmm I see.. Like I'm going to let you do that!!!! Go back upstairs Emma! You know very well that you only need to rest and eat well right now." "Hah, yes I know but you are saying it as if you know I'm going to do that so easily. I thought you, of all people knew me the best, Gilda." "Alright.. then I guess I'll just have to tell Ray everything." "There is no need to," said Ray, coming into the dining room from behind and Emma froze. "Emma.. do you want me to carry you back?" Ray was the only one who could defeat Emma and make her go. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance at both Gilda and Ray and then after a moment said. "No thanks, I'll go back myself. But really you both! I'm not a child now, I know how to take care of myself!" "As reckless as always!," both Ray and Gilda sang in unison as she stomped back up the stairs and then burst into laughter. "I guess she was tired of just sitting around and doing nothing. You know our Emma, always bouncy and cheerful and bursting with energy. For a person like that, sitting idle is no less than a punishment." "I know, but I want to make sure that she stays as relaxed she can right now. Getting tired or taking any stress won't be good for her at all. Just a few more days to go, then she can run around as much as she wants to again."

Emma was lying on her bed grumpily. She was still not completely cooled off from the dining room incident, but she kind of understood where Ray was coming from too. So she decided to let it go for once. She was just thinking about the day she would be able to mingle with the others once again, when she suddenly felt an extremely sharp and piercing pain in her abdomen. It was worse than any pain than she had ever experienced, even more than when Isabella had broken her leg that day all those years ago. She vowed not to scream like she did that day now, she was not 11 years old anymore. So she groaned in her pillow. But when it suddenly took a turn for the worse, she couldn't bear it any longer and she screamed. "AAAAAAAAHHH!" Ray dropped the glass of water that he was holding on the floor. "Emma!" he gasped and rushed upstairs "HANG ON EMMA, I'M COMING!" . Meanwhile, Gilda and Anna had also heard her shout and they were able to get to her much more quickly. They burst into the room. "Emma!" "Gilda.. help.. it's hurting so bad.." she gasped. "It's okay, relax. We are here now." "It's started" Gilda said to Anna quietly. "Yes, just get the equipment ready. Quickly." Norman, who was sitting in his office and the rest of the family, also got alarmed. Norman had also started on his way upstairs but got delayed by the younger kids who had gathered around him to enquire what was going on. Most of them had tears in their eyes. "Norman.. what is wrong with Emma.. why did she scream like that??" "I'm just going to go check. Don't worry, I'm sure she's okay." he said, comforting all of them.

Meanwhile, Gilda and Anna had prepared Emma for her delivery. They had locked the door to the room to prevent any sudden disturbances and barging in, laid her down on the bed and covered her lower half with a sheet. Both of them had latex gloves and masks on and the bed was covered with a spare sheet as well. A moment later, Ray reached the door of the room. "EMMA!" he said, rushing to open it, but he was held back by both Norman and Oliver. "Hey, LET ME GO! I want to see her!!" he said, struggling furiously in his arms. "Calm down, Ray, she's alright, she's got Gilda and Anna with her in there. And besides, they've locked the door." "No, she's not alright, did you hear that scream?! She's in… so much pain.." Ray said, suddenly going limp. His voice was barely above a whisper and tears were running down his face now. At the same time, another muffled scream from Emma was heard from behind the door and Ray flinched violently. "Norman.. I think that we should really take him to another room." Oliver suggested. "You are right." So both of them took him to his room. When Norman came back downstairs after about 2 hours, Gillan asked him. "How's Ray doing?" "Not good.. at all.. he's seriously depressed." "Of course, what else do you expect? But I don't see why you two are not allowing him inside though." "Maybe because there is a girls-only thing going on in there?" Norman reminded her. Gillan sighed. "Norman, he's her husband, her life partner, not just some random guy, for God's sake! He totally deserves to be in there with her by her side!" At the same time, Gilda came rushing outside. "Please, call Ray. Hurry!"

Ray was lying with his face down on a pillow, desperately trying to erase the horrible memory of the scream that he had heard from Emma a little while ago. And he couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear the fact that she was screaming in agony and he was just standing there like an idiot, unable to protect her. _Dammit, what kind of a partner am I?? I'm so sorry Emma.. I'm so sorry.. I wanted to go inside! I wanted to see you and hold you in my arms! Why won't they allow me inside too?? _The last time Ray had heard her scream like that was when Mama had broken her leg back at the orphanage so many years ago. And even then, he had just stood there, shocked and not doing anything despite the fact that he was beside himself with worry. But, he vowed to himself that day that this would be the last time.. the very last.. that he let her suffer through any kind of pain alone, ever again. _I'm sorry Emma.. I'm useless. Completely worthless. I can't even help the ones that I love. Even after they do everything for me_ he thought, sobbing hard again.

Norman came into the room. "Ray, they are calling for you! They want you to go inside!" Ray couldn't believe what he had heard at first. He turned his face to Norman to confirm once again. "They really want me in there? With her?" Yes they do, now hurry up and go!" Ray jumped up and ran out of the room. They wanted him inside! He would be with Emma. Right by her side, supporting her! He almost threw open the door upon reaching it but at the last second, remembered what was going on. He came in quietly and saw her lying down, with her eyes closed. Her breathing also seemed quite shallow. "Gilda.. what's going on?? Till where has she made progress?" "She's trying her best Ray, but unfortunately, not too far even yet. She still has a long way to go, but she's so tired that she can't even push anymore. And the contractions are continuing to hurt her and sap her remaining energy. You were called inside because she wanted you with her. Ray went over to Emma's side. "Can I sit behind her?" "Of course." So Ray sat behind her, in a way that Emma's back and head was resting against his own chest and shoulders. "Ray.. I'm scared" she said weakly. He gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek. "It's okay, I'm here now pumpkin, so let's do this together.. alright?" He took one of her hands in his own and gently rubbed it. She slightly tightened her grip around his hand, as in trying to say "Please keep holding it in yours like that." And Ray got the message. He interlocked his fingers firmly in her hand to provide reassurance to her. After a while, Anna updated him again. "She's making great progress now." "Your presence is greatly helping her relax, Ray. If only we had realized it earlier." Emma whimpered. "It's another contraction". Ray wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks, then placed both his hands on her abdomen and gently started rubbing her to help soothe her pain. "Shhhh, it's okay sweetheart.. It's alright. Just relax and breathe. Do you remember those labor breathing exercises that we did? That's right, breathe deeply.. in and out, just like that. Perfect," he said to her in a soft and encouraging voice. "You're almost there Emma, just one more push!"

"Let's go pumpkin, you can do it!." "On my count, 1..2..3.. PUSH!". So Emma pushed one last time with all that she had, while Ray was squeezing her hand. And then finally, after 4 long hours, a small cry was heard. "You did it Emma! That's my brave girl." "Well, congratulations, you got a daughter! Here, take a look!" said Anna, wrapping her up and passing her on. Ray took her gently in his arms and lowered her down for Emma to see as well. A beautiful little baby girl with pricks of black hair like Ray's and bright, emerald green eyes like Emma's. And for the second time in those months, the two parents clung to each other, crying tears of pure joy.

Emma had gone into a deep sleep, just a few minutes after she was free. She slept soundly for around 2 hours, until she was woken up to the feeling of butterfly kisses all over her face and cheeks. She opened her eyes and saw Ray's face over hers the first thing, then second, heard his voice. "Good morning pumpkin. How are you feeling?" "Mhmm? Much better, but still sore all over." After she became fully aware of her surroundings again, he helped her sit up. "Where's the baby?" "Oh, she is with Gilda and Anna in another room. They took her away to the nursery.. to take care of her. Do you want me to ask them to bring her here?" "No,it's fine. We'll go see her together.. when I have enough strength to walk again. Until then, let's think of a beautiful name for her," and so, they both started a discussion on various kinds of names and finally ended up on Isabella, in memory of both their childhood days and their orphanage's Mama, whom they so adored once.

The End :)


	3. A father's love...

The Promised Neverland

Ray x Emma (part 3)

_Papa, what is a demon?_

Ray was sitting on the couch, reading the headlines in a newspaper while Emma was washing dishes in the kitchen. Alongside him, was sitting Isabella, their 4 year old daughter. Everything was going peacefully, until Isabella asked him a question. "Papa, what is a demon?" She asked it out of innocence and curiosity, but from behind his newspaper, Ray visibly froze. And he could tell that Emma did too, because the sound of the dishes clattering in the sink suddenly stopped. Ray was shocked "Where did you get that word from, Isabella?" he demanded. "It was in a library book. I was reading it and I suddenly came across it.. but I didn't understand what it meant." Isabella had inherited Ray's habit of reading and he still had no idea whether to categorize that as a blessing or a curse. It was a blessing when she was using the extensive knowledge that she obtained from them to act really mature and some days she just asked him the meaning of random words that he had no idea how to reply to. Like today. How could you explain to an innocent, cheerful, four year old that a demon was a monster that liked eating humans.. and specifically kids?? Ray immediately made up his mind to remove more of any such books from the library as soon as possible. "Er, I don't exactly know myself, Isabella. Sorry dear." "Oh.. it's okay!" "But I guess you taught me something new today!" he said to her while smiling as best as he could. Ray hated lying to her. Lying was something that went directly against his straightforward, blunt nature. But he tried to console himself with the thought that he was doing it for her own good. Not that he planned to hide it from her forever. Both Emma and Ray had already decided that as soon as Isabella was old enough to understand and handle things, they would one day sit her down and tell her all about their own past and childhood. The Gracefield House, the demon world and even the demons themselves, their escape and the long and hard journey that they undertook to get here.. they would tell her every single detail. She had the full right to know after all. But now was definitely not the time. "Hey, Isabella! Want to come play with me in the forest? The other kids are also there" Hao called her. Hao was Norman and Anna's son and the same age as Isabella's. Growing up in the same household, the two had become very close friends, just like Ray, Emma and Norman had been and in fact still were, among themselves. And now their kids were also carrying on the tradition. Isabella looked to Ray for permission. "Yes, go" he said to her, smiling. In their family dynamic, Ray was the inquisitive and overprotective parent, partly because of his nature and partly because of his own past, while Emma was much more trusting and easygoing. He hardly let her go outside to play alone, even in the forest behind their house unless he himself or another trusted adult was with her. He let her go off today because he knew that Oliver would be there as well. "Ray.." Emma said "Yeah, don't worry. That is exactly what I'm going to do". Knowing that she was thinking exactly what he was, he got up and started heading straight for the library.

Meanwhile, in the Demon world

"Call for my subordinates!" Lord Bayon boomed to the Royal guards beside his throne. "Yes, O Royal one?" "Listen to me. I have a mission for you both from Him. He has been wanting to eat human meat for quite some time now and He wants the top quality one. Unfortunately, all the humans have crossed over to the other world and we don't have any left here. So.. I want you both to sneak over to the human world and bring Him one premium quality product back. I have heard recently that two of our former top quality goods, namely 81194 and 63194, have had a child. A girl, to be precise. She's got black hair and green eyes. You will know her immediately from all the others when you see her. She is the ultimate prize. I want you to find her and bring her back here. If you do manage to succeed in doing so, none other than Him will be the most pleased. However, if you still can't.. then bring back any other one of the high quality goods. Even if the crossing over to the humans side needs having to take illegal pathways, then so be it. A request from Him can never be refused." "Got it, sir!"

"Is that the one, boss? The one with the black hair and green eyes?" "Yes, exactly that one. The offspring of 81194 and 63194.. two of the premium quality products! What else could be better for Him. Keep a close eye on her. We will grab her when she is separated from everyone else." Little did the unsuspecting group of kids and one adult in the forest know that two demons were hiding behind trees in the same area as them. Demons who had entered the human world illegally just to get the ultimate prize that was none other than Ray and Emma's daughter, Isabella, herself.

Back in the human world

Ray had reached the library and upon finding Nat and Dominic, asked them for their help. "Nat, Dominic, I have a favor from you both. Can you please hunt down all the books related to demons here and hide them in a separate, hidden, far away corner of the library?" "Of course, Ray. But do you mind us asking why?" "Isabella somehow managed to grab one yesterday while reading. And today she was asking me what is a demon" "Sheesh, she's a smart one. What did you answer her?" Nat asked. "I said the only possible thing that came to my mind first. That I don't know what it means either. Luckily, it was good enough to stall her for the time being. But now I've learnt my lesson and that is why I'm here and requesting you people to take those books out of her sight.. at least until she is old enough to understand and know." "All right, we're on it. Leave it to us!" "What is she doing now?" Dominic asked. "Oh, she's playing outside with Hao and the other kids. Oliver is also out there, right?" "Yep, wherever the younger ones are, Oliver is too. That's for certain! So don't worry so much Ray.. she's in safe hands." Nat reassured him. But Ray was still far from being that. Not to say that he did not trust Oliver...It was just that for the past couple of nights, he had been having extremely disturbing dreams.. nightmares to be precise, of which Isabella was often the main victim. Demons hunting and chasing her down, demons cutting open her head to get to her brain, demons putting a vida flower in her heart and then placing her in that big glass jar of theirs that used to deliver the "merchandise". They were dreams that he couldn't really tell anyone about, except perhaps Emma and they were keeping him on the edge even more than he usually was when it came to her. He decided to talk to Emma about it soon. For now, he was just heading outside to get a little fresh air himself.

Meanwhile, the kids were playing hide-and seek and it was finally Isabella's turn to be the seeker. "Nine… Ten! Ready or not, here I come!" she warned them and then broke into a sprint to find them all. She had inherited Emma's fantastic athletic abilities and so, even at such a young age, was faster than any of the other kids and even adults around her. She could jump through trees effortlessly, could climb them in just a couple of seconds and did backflips, cartwheels and various other things as if she'd been doing nothing else her entire life. Oliver called her an "acrobat", the other kids were in complete awe, and Ray called her "Monkey number 2" as he had fondly called Emma before her "Monkey". "Found you, Gale!" she said, dragging him out of the bush that he had been hiding behind. Gale was one of the kids that Oliver had adopted. When he had reached a certain age and had a stable source of income, Oliver had started taking in kids, just like Lucas before him had done with him and and with so many other kids. Oliver did it not only because he liked kids, but also in both his foster father's memory and to honor and carry on his tradition. "Aw, c'mon, why did it have to be ME again?? I always get caught the first." "That's because I always see your messy hair sticking out at the top from wherever you are, dummy! So make sure that you comb them properly next time!" she said, giggling and teasing him playfully. "C'mon, now let's go and find the others together! You can go off to look in that direction and I will go here" she said, pointing towards the Western side of the forest first and then towards the Eastern side next. "That's actually a good idea! It will make it easier for us to find them if we split up." So both the kids went off in their separate directions and Isabella had unfortunately and unknowingly decided to go off towards the side of the forest in which the demons were hiding.

Behind the trees

"Look boss! She's separate from all of them now! Should we get her?" "Yes, now's our chance. But be careful. We can't let any harm come to her, not even a scratch. She's special, only for Him." "Got it, boss!" So the demon very calmly stepped out from behind his tree and started walking towards the unsuspecting little girl

Isabella

"Hao! I know you are in there, so come out now!" she said, going over to a tangle of bushes and shrubs, trying to find her best friend. He hid himself away really well and was normally always either the last person to be found during each game, or sometimes even could not be found at all, no matter how many people got together to try to. This time though, Isabella was determined not to let him be the last one or the unfindable one. She would find him and drag him out before she did anyone else, even if it meant prolonging the game. "I won't let you get away this time. Oh no, I won't!" she said. Suddenly she heard the sound of a twig snapping behind her and turned herself around fully to see who or what it was. She was expecting another kid or even an adult, but instead, found herself looking up at all a tall, masked figure in front of her. "Hello, child. So I finally found you" the demon said, grinning at her and showing all his sharp canines. "You will be coming with me now" Isabella screamed and ran away as fast as she could.

Meanwhile, the demons

"You idiot!! Why'd you go and say that to her?? You should just have grabbed her!! Damn it.. we've lost her now. 81194 will probably get suspicious and come out to investigate what all the noise is about. We have to get away from here for now." the leader demon said to his subordinate.

Ray

Ray was walking through the forest to its deepest part where all the kids usually liked to play when he heard Isabella scream and then he panicked completely. "ISABELLA!!!" he said, breaking into a run through the forest as fast he could. "ISABELLA!! I'M COMING!!" But luckily for him, the path that he and she had chosen to go through was exactly the same and Ray suddenly saw a little figure sprinting towards him through the trees. "PAPAAAA!" she said running straight into him and he hugged her tightly. "Isabella!! Are you okay?? What happened?? Why'd you scream like that??" She was trembling like a leaf all over. "Papaa-a.. there's a monster… AND HE'S COMING FOR ME, SAVE MEEEE!" she said, howling in his shoulder. "There, there, It's okay, sweetheart.. I'm here now" he said and lifted her up into his arms. If Ray was only suspicious before, he was on full alert now. All of his 5 senses were now strained only towards finding that source of danger that had threatened his daughter. And he had a feeling that it was something much bigger and much worse than he was imagining. Meanwhile, all the other kids hearing Isabella scream like that, had gotten alarmed and immediately come out of their hiding places to gather around Ray. "Uncle Ray, what happened to Isabella?" "Is she okay??" This last question was from Hao, who was clearly getting very concerned about his best friend. Ray saw it in his eyes and smiled at him, then ruffled his hair fondly. "Yes, she's okay, Hao. Don't worry." "She just got a little scared" he said, answering the other kids. At the same time, Oliver came up as well. "I'm so sorry, Ray! I should have kept more of a watch out for her. I got wrapped up in their game as well. Please forgive me!" "It's okay, Oliver. Really. It wasn't your fault at all. But I want you to do something. Take all these kids inside.. right now. It's not safe for them out here at the moment. I'll explain everything later, now go!" So Oliver hurriedly took all the others inside and Ray started exploring the area with Isabella's face still buried in his shoulder. He was now wishing that he had brought along his rifle too. "It's okay sweetpea, you can look up now. He's not going to come again because I'm with you" he said to her after a while as reassurance. This seemed convincing enough to Isabella and the little girl tilted her head slightly to take a peek at her surroundings once again. At the same time, Ray's sharp eyes caught something moving through the trees on the far side of the forest. A tall figure or so it seemed. That was only as much of the glimpse he could catch of it because it moved away rather fast. But that didn't help any further to calm his jumpy nerves. He decided to explore the area a bit more, but after not really finding any other useful clue aside from the figure that had moved through the trees, he almost gave up. Then he suddenly had the idea of asking Isabella a question. "Isabella dear, will you answer one question of mine?" he said to the little figure on his shoulder. "Okay" Ray hesitated a little before asking. He had no idea how she would feel towards it and he did not want to upset her again. But he made an attempt. "What did the monster that you see look like? Do you remember anything specific?" Almost immediately he felt her figure go stiff and he was now feeling very guilty of having even thought of asking this from her in the first place. Why were you deliberately making a child recall something that had traumatized her again?? "It's okay if you don't want to tell me" he said, clarifying to her that giving him an answer was not necessary. After a while, Isabella spoke again. "He was very tall and was wearing a grey mask. He also had two horns on his head. And he told me that he had finally found me and he wanted me to come with him." Ray suddenly went so weak in the knees that he did not even have the strength to keep standing any longer. He quickly sat down near a tree. His head was feeling very light and it was a bit of time before he could even make sense of his surroundings. No way... It's not even possible... It couldn't have been that!! Stop overthinking things, Ray! When he had regained his composure once again, they both went back to the house and Ray decided to confide in Norman about his entire situation. Norman groaned. "This is bad... Really, really bad. It's like reliving our nightmares." "But how, Norman?? How could demons have entered the human world?? Wasn't one of the main points of the promise that Emma had sealed so many years ago with the demon king exactly this?? That the path between the two worlds was to bed sealed off forever?? How did they even come here then??" "Most likely by using highly illegal methods. That or the demon king himself is a huge traitor. Either way, we can't let that happen again. We can't let all the freedom that we worked so hard for, so many years for, be taken away from us again." "Exactly. We can't let our kids get exposed to the same reality. Should we gather all the adults around aside from you and me, of course, and break this news to them too?" "Yes, I think that we should. Or no. Tell you what, I think you should first talk to Emma about this only. She needs to know. I'll talk to Anna. The 4 of us are first going to observe things closely for some days. It will be no use creating an upheaval right now if there are those 2 demons only. Once we do get some solid proofs of anything like that happening, then we will break the news to all the others. But do not count Oliver among all these others. Take him into your confidence aside from us because he is the one who is in charge of the kids. Give him strict instructions to keep all of them inside for the next few days, no matter what. And you.. you are right to being extra cautious about her, Ray. Your and even our first priority is to protect Isabella, because they, I have no doubt it, are aiming to get their hands on her. She is the combination of two premium quality goods, she is like their ultimate trophy. Hence the first kid they are going to try to grab is her, and if they can't, then they will go for someone like Phil and Hao, or if not even that, then someone like even you, me and Emma ourselves." "Yes, I got that. I'll talk to Oliver tonight as well. Damn it. Why did Isabella have to be the one to see that demon?? She got to face exactly what I had been trying to protect her for so long from!" "Haha, that's why they say that what is meant to happen will happen, no matter what you do. So then, why even bother to put so much effort into it in the first place. Don't worry though, everything is going to be alright." But almost everything started going wrong immediately.

That night, after dinner, when Ray had finished talking to both Emma and Oliver, he went outside with Isabella for their night walk through the forest as always. It was their little way of father-daughter bonding time. Isabella was sitting on Ray's broad shoulders and the both of them were walking along together, when Isabella challenged him to a small game of tag and he agreed. After all, both of them knew this forest like the back of their hands so they had no chance of getting lost. "Alright, you are on it!" Ray made a count to ten and then called out "Ready or not, here I come!" He kept searching for her for a constant 20 minutes, missing no bushes, shrubs and not even the tops of a single tree (because much the monkey that she was, she was bound to even be hiding among the branches of the trees) but he still could not find her. By now, dark clouds were starting to gather in the sky as well. _Wow, she sure knows how to hide herself away perfectly _Ray thought to himself. "Alright alright Isabella, I give up! You win! Come on out now, we need to get home before this rainstorm starts." he called out to the silent forest. Usually during all of their these kinds of gaming sessions, when either one of the members gave up and called for the other one, he/she immediately came out of his/her hiding place and then a torrent of playful taunts and teasing comments started up. But strangely enough, this time the forest remained silent and no Isabella appeared. "Isabella! We really need to get going, sweetpea." Ray tried calling her one more time but was met with the same strange silence. By now, he was getting concerned and a few raindrops were falling already too. It was clear that this search was going to be prolonged and Ray was glad that he had decided to wear his raincoat tonight. But it was an altogether different matter for Isabella. He decided to start from one fixed point and from there, roamed the entire forest to look for her with his phones flashlight acting as his light source. After about another whole hour of searching, Ray finally found her. And it was a horrifying and heart-wrenching sight for him. "ISABELLA!!"

Demons

"Ahh.. look… 81194 and the girl have come outside for a walk and now they are playing a game. She has gotten separated for a little while again and the dark cover of the night is just gonna make it easier. The leader demon said, noticing Isabella run past by. We have gotten another chance and let's make proper use of it this time. And you! Stay behind! I am the one who is going to go and bring her back with us. Nothings to is going to go wrong and she will be all ours for sure this time." And saying so, he stalked out swiftly from behind a tree and grabbed Isabella, who was searching for a good place to hide, from behind. He placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her screaming. "Shut up, you little brat!" he said to her which earned him a kick in the gut from the struggling girl and then, he completely lost his temper. He slashed with the long claws of one of his hands through her right arm and that of the other one through her left leg. Isabella let out a muffled scream of agony, her blood gushing out and spilling everywhere and then she passed out due to the intense pain. Suddenly the demon saw a trail of a flashlight, and in a hurry to hide himself, he threw the severely injured girl into some nearby bushes and took off unnoticed with the help of the shadows once again.

Ray and Isabella

The young girl was lying unconscious in a tangle of bushes which were now covered with the blood from her injuries. Very deep gashes had been inflicted in her leg and on her right arm, the sleeve had gotten torn away, revealing the gaping wound. _Gashes that only a demons sharp claws can make… No... Not again!!_ "ISABELLA!!! Damn it!!!" Ray screamed, tears running down his cheeks. He quickly leaned down and checked her vital signs. Luckily she was still alive but her pulse was very low and breathing quite shallow. He took off his raincoat and wrapped it around his unconscious girl, not caring in the least that he was getting soaked. All that mattered to him right now was getting her to safety. He decided to head back home immediately and get her wounds treated by Zack, but soon realized that that would be too risky. She had lost and was still in fact losing too much blood to be able to make it back to the house in time. He changed his plans and decided to look for a shelter from the rain first, which he successfully found as a hole within a tree. After settling down, he started tending to her injuries as best as he could. Back in his time, during his long lone hours at the orphanage, Ray had learnt first aid. Often secretly, he used to creep into the orphanages infantry at times and first read, then attempted and then finally one day, practiced the procedures given in the emergency medical kit that Mama had kept in a cupboard, well away from any child's reach or sight. Ray was in fact the only kid who knew about it, not only because it was kept so out of the way, but because none of the other kids were even interested in the infantry, let alone the medical kit. They all had better things to do.. like play tag together. And by the time Mama found out, he was already an expert at it. Ray took a roll of bandage and some cotton wool from his coat pocket. He always carried these around with him in case they were needed in an emergency like now. Holding Isabella's leg up gently, he wiped off the excess blood with a small piece of wool, then divided the rest into 2 parts. He placed one half on the wound on her leg, then firmly wrapped a bandage around it to hold it in place, hoping that it would stop the bleeding at least for a long enough time for them to reach back home. After he was done with the same procedure on her arm, he gave Isabella a tender kiss on her head and she started coming back into consciousness again, stirring. "Owww... it hurts so much Papa..." she groaned. "I know, sweetheart. I know. Just hang on a little while longer, we are heading back home now." he said to her gently. They both exited the tree, with Ray carrying Isabella in his arms once again and running back towards the house. They were already halfway there, when Ray found his path blocked by two tall demons who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Clearly they both had eagerly been waiting for their this chance to corner them down. "So, 81194, you are finally here. Caused you quite some trouble, didn't we? Well, it wouldn't have been that hard if you had simply handed over that girl in your arms over there. We want her for Him. He has specially requested us to bring him the best, top quality human meat and we never deny His requests. So you had better hand her over. It will become easier for you too, if you just do what we say. Because we don't intend to stop chasing her at any time. She is His property and we will make sure that she returns to Him." Ray just wrapped his arms around Isabella even more tightly and growled at them. "LIKE HELL I'M EVER GONNA DO THAT!! She's MY daughter!! You seriously think that I'd send my own child to her doom?? And more importantly, do you really think that I would knowingly and willingly give her up in the hands of such rotten creatures as you?! I'll protect her with my life and for as long as I need to. So you better just give up that idea of yours completely. Or if you still won't… then you will have to go through me first, if you want her. Which I'm sure you won't be able to stand a chance of doing." "Ahh, so you want it that way do you.. stubborn and a hard learner, as always. Well, I really don't mind what I have to do, as long as I get that girl." And saying so, he shot an arrow, right in Ray's lower leg, with the aim of stopping him from running away. He yelled in pain and fell down down onto his knees, but he was still holding Isabella to his abdomen, the strength of his grip never fading. Isabella whimpered upon hearing his shout. "It's okay girl…. Don't worry… He won't be able to do anything to you.. not as long as I'M here!" he said to her through gritted teeth. The demon was surprised. "Oh?" "Well.. what are you going to do now? I still haven't let her go" he said, looking up at the demon with his pain glazed yet extremely determined and victorious grey eyes. "Then I guess I have no other option." said the demon, taking out the familiar white yet deadly vida flower and pointing it towards him. "We will just take you then. Either of the high or premium quality goods are acceptable to Him" "I don't mind. As I said, I'm prepared to do anything, so long as she stays safe. Take me.. but then promise me that you will leave her alone." "Of course. He only needs one premium product. That was the whole deal. And that can either be you or the girl. So Ray held Isabella's head which was already in his stomach, in a firm grip, to stop her from seeing anything and closed his eyes himself, waiting for the painful stab by the flower entering his heart. It was nearly there, he could feel it's sharp point. pricking the skin of his chest through his shirt. _I'm sorry.. Emma… Norman.. everyone else. Isabella.. my one and only princess.. please make my this sacrifice of mine worthwhile and live the best and fullest possible life that you can.. A life full of your dreams and endless happiness. I will always keep watching over you.. I will always keep protecting you from the heavens. I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you… someone so pure and beautiful.. enter my life. But I'm glad that I got to meet you and know you. You filled my life with joy, with hope, with light.. once again. You are my flesh and blood and words can't describe the amount of love I have for you. I lived a long life, full of so many regrets and mistakes.. but if I see you happy now, I won't have even a single one left. So please.. keep smiling and laughing always. Take care of your mother and yourself in honour of my memory. We'll meet again someday._ The flower pierced the tip of his skin and Ray groaned a little from the pain

...

...

...

...

Suddenly, he heard 2 gunshots and then, the pain in his chest vanished and everything went quiet. He quickly opened his eyes. He saw the demon dropped down in front of him.. dead. He then looked down at Isabella, who was still clinging on to his abdomen but was crying. And he.. he was still alive. "Wha… What happened?.." "RAY! ISABELLA!" a voice called through the woods and then the sound of footsteps hurriedly approached them and Oliver, Paula, Zack, Emma and Norman were standing in front of them. "Are you both okay??" "Oh no, they're not" Zack said, pointing to the arrow in Ray's leg and Isabella's bandages. "We're fine." Ray finally said, staggering to stand up and moving Isabella onto his shoulder instead. But the pain was sharp and he hissed and sat down again. "I'll hold her" Emma said, holding out her arms to take Isabella, while Zack and Norman helped him up. "You almost got killed there, Ray! What were you even thinking of while doing that??" Emma scolded him. "He had no choice. The demon was attempting to take Isabella but Ray decided to make a deal to take him and leave her alone. It's called "a father's love" Emma." Oliver explained to her. "But the good thing is that they are both safe now. We came just in time. I hate to think of what would have happened if we had been even another second late." "We were thinking that you people were running a bit too late than usual to come back. So we came to check on you. And I'm glad that we did." Zack explained. "I second that emotion. You guys were in some serious trouble there" Norman said. "But there is still a second demon out there as well." Ray said. "Yes, but he's not that dangerous. He was more like a subordinate of that first one. The first one was the boss. He won't be able to do anything much without him now really, so we can eliminate him easily." Oliver explained. After they reached back to the house, the rest of the younger kids were already asleep so the adults were the only ones who gathered around the returning party. Zack took both Ray and Isabella to the infirmary, treated them properly, then left them both for the night to sleep soundly. In the morning, Ray woke up early and finding Isabella near him, he kept sitting there by her side until it was time for breakfast, then he woke her up. "Isabella-a. It's time for breakfast" he said to her softly in her ear. "Mhmm…" she mumbled but then fell back asleep again. So Ray decided to try something else. He started nuzzling her neck with his nose, which made her move a little more. "Papa, stop that! Your hair tickles!" she said laughing and then opened her eyes, her emerald green ones meeting his loving grey ones. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" he said to her. "No fair, I wanted to sleep a bit more. I'm still tired." she said and then turned her back to him again. Ray again buried his nose in the back of her neck, which again made her squeal and then turn around to look him with a pout. "Alright. I'll just go under the covers then" she said and buried herself underneath… until she felt Ray's hands tickling her all over her stomach and after another fit of laughing, she eventually came out again, gasping for breath. "I won't let you go to sleep again now" Ray said to her while smiling mischievously. "Oh really? Then I'll guess I'll have to do this!" she said and jumped on him playfully while trying to find his tickle spots. "My turn now!" he said to her after her failed attempts. He then lifted her up, pinned her down to the bed and started blowing raspberries in her belly, which coupled with his long bangs and the sensations of the act itself, was doubly ticklish and Isabella howled with laughter. "Stop… stop… AHAHAHAHAHA!" she said, as Ray went for another round. So busy they both were in having fun that they did not notice the time that had passed or the amount of noise that they were making until they heard Zack's voice calling out to them from behind the infirmary door. "You both, is that the infirmary or the playground in there?? We can hear you all the way to the kitchen downstairs! I'm bringing breakfast for you both as well now so come on and wash up quickly!" Both of them grinned at each other and Ray ruffled Isabella's hair fondly. "Come on, let's get ready quickly now." Ray was just pulling away, when Isabella wrapped her hands around his neck and the end result was that the little girl got lifted up along with him, with her legs wrapped around his chest and two raven haired heads connected together. "Oh! You little monkey!" Ray said to her fondly and placed his arms under her legs to support her. "I love you so much, Papa," she said, while rubbing her forehead affectionately against Ray's, who smiled, then pulled away and gave her a kiss on her head. "I love you too, my little princess. More than you will ever know." _When I was a child, I once read in a storybook a line that said 'Every daughter is her father's princess'. At that time, I did not understand what it meant. But I guess now I do.. completely._ After a few more minutes, there was a knock on the door and Zack came inside. "How are you both feeling now?" he asked him. "Much better, as you probably guessed from a little while ago." "Hm. At this rate we will be needing to allow everyone inside to visit you. The main reason that we don't is because the patients in the infirmary are in need of peace and quiet themselves. But I really don't see anything of the sort right now! Been rather close to you, hasn't she lately?" he said, mentioning Isabella. "Well.. I'm really glad, to be honest. It's a lovely feeling. And she has been through a lot these past few days. At least much more than any average 4 year old should have to. And it's made her realize that I'm going to be right there by her side.. to help her through anything." "That's good.. Well.. I'll leave you two to have your breakfast in peace now. Do take it before it gets cold." "Sure thing." And saying so, Zack walked out of the infirmary, leaving the two behind. After a little while more, he went back to fetch their tray and the sight that greeted him was one of pure sweetness. Ray was still sitting upright, reading a book, but in his lap was Isabella, fast asleep and covered with a blanket. One of his hands was stroking her hair gently while the other one was flipping the pages of the book. He did what he came to do and walked out of the door quietly while smiling at what he had just witnessed on his way back to the kitchen. He remembered the Ray that he had known back then.. caring but still keeping a bit aloof from everyone and very, very serious and reserved. In fact, Zack hardly even remembered him smiling, let alone laughing. A logical, tactical Ray who used to tease Emma for being reckless and taking reckless decisions when it came to her family.. and yet to look at what he had almost done yesterday and now today morning, was playing with his daughter and showing her affection. This current Ray was a completely different projection from that of all those years ago. In fact, he had changed so much that it was hard to believe at times that it was actually still the same person. And it was a change that Zack was proud of.

The end.


End file.
